No fourth round: Pakistan suspends peace talks with Afghanistan

Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif announced on November 7 that negotiations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been suspended indefinitely, confirming that there is currently “no programme for the fourth round of talks.”

“There is a complete deadlock. The negotiations have entered an indefinite phase,” Asif said during an appearance on Geo News’ programme Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath.

The announcement followed the third round of Pakistan-Afghanistan talks held in Istanbul on Thursday, aimed at easing growing tensions after last month’s deadly border clashes. This meeting came after five days of earlier negotiations that had produced a last-minute interim agreement.

Asif expressed gratitude to Türkiye and Qatar for their “sincere efforts” to mediate between the two countries. “They support our stance. Even the Afghan delegation agreed with us; however, they were not ready to sign a written agreement,” he explained, stressing that Pakistan would only accept a formal, documented accord.

“They wanted verbal assurances to be accepted, which is not possible in international negotiations,” Asif noted.

According to him, the mediators had made considerable efforts but eventually lost hope. “If they had even a little optimism, they would have asked us to stay. Our return empty-handed shows that even they have given up on Kabul,” the defence minister remarked.

Reiterating Islamabad’s position, Asif said Pakistan’s demand was straightforward. “Our only demand is that Afghanistan must ensure its soil is not used for attacks on Pakistan,” he stated.

He also warned that Pakistan would not hesitate to defend itself if provoked. “If there is any attack from Afghan soil, we will respond accordingly,” he declared, adding that as long as there is no aggression, the ceasefire will remain intact.

Before this latest development, the second round of talks between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban regime had taken place on October 25 in Istanbul, Türkiye. That round collapsed after Pakistan rejected what it described as the Taliban delegation’s “illogical” arguments and refusal to address Islamabad’s concerns about cross-border terrorism.

However, mediation efforts led by Türkiye and Qatar had convinced Pakistan to give diplomacy another chance, resulting in an agreement to maintain the ceasefire.

At the conclusion of those earlier talks, the Turkish foreign ministry issued a joint statement noting that all sides had agreed to uphold the ceasefire and establish a monitoring and verification mechanism to ensure peace and penalise any violations.

By Tamilla Hasanova